Critique: Pretty Paper and Turning the Tables

Monday we present some design drafts for Debut to the publishers. My first spread included two decorative articles for the Essentials department. My biggest struggle with the design was making it too feminine. Our audience for Debut is meant to stay pretty gender neutral, but with a story titled "Pretty Paper" I instantly began using bright colors and elements which strayed a bit too far from the masculine side.  For my revision I am going to include the arrows that are carried out throughout debut. I think it will help make the design more neutral.Cutouts of the photos rather than repetitive squares will also help my design I think as well. Here is what I had for the presentation. I will post all of my new designs and revisions for next week's blog post.